Runners spend a lot of time outdoors in the sun, so it's important that we take steps to protect our skin from sun exposure. Follow these tips to protect your skin from the sun when running outdoors:

Choose the right sunscreen. Use a waterproof sunscreen that has an SPF of at least 15 and offers broad spectrum protection, which means it protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Stick formulations are good for runners' faces because the sunscreen won't run into your eyes.

Run early or late. Try to avoid running between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun's intensity is at its greatest. If you must train during those hours, try to stick to shady roads or trails.

Wear a hat with a brim. A hat will give your face extra protection. (Although you'll still need sunscreen on your face.) It will also help absorb sweat, so the sunscreen doesn't run into your eyes.

Put on your sunscreen ahead of time. Slather on your sunscreen at least 20 minutes before you head out for your run. Your skin needs time to absorb the lotion.

Don't skip sunscreen for short runs. You can get a sunburn in as little as 15 minutes, so don't think doing a short run means you don't need sunscreen.

Reapply after two hours. Sunscreen starts to lose effectiveness at about the two-hour mark, or even sooner if you're sweating heavily, so you'll need to reapply if you're doing a long run or race. Carry a small tube of sunscreen or a one-use, wipe sunscreen in your pocket, so that you can reapply it to your face, neck and arms as you run.

Put on sunscreen before getting dressed. Make sure you cover areas of your body that you assume may be protected. Some summer running clothes are made of mesh or very thin fabric, so they might not provide protection from the sun's rays. Also, your clothes move when you run (or, if you get hot, you may choose to take off some clothes, like your shirt). So it's best to make sure you're fully covered with sunscreen.

Wear shades. A good pair of UV-blocking running sunglasses give your face more protection and also help protect your eyes from the sun's damaging rays.

i thought i couldn't do it. i thought i'd give up after 10kilometers on my feet. i thought my shins would act up. but hey, i'm here and blogging about how i finished my 15K! :-)

my mind's in a ramble now. i'm directly writing what i'm thinking. so please pardon the lack of cohesiveness of my thoughts.

i actually started strong. but my thighs started to give up halfway through the race. i should take the thigh-track in body pump seriously now. i passed by senator pia cayetano at the start of the race. i tried to conserve the water in my belt by drinking at the water stations.i was so happy to see a gatorade station in front of rcbc tower in buendia. just as we were crossing south super highway, i zoomed passed coach rio who's pacing with big tycoon zobel de ayala. (i noticed he was wearing the nike vomero's that i really, really wanted. hey, it's loose change for him. hihi). after the turnaround point at bautista-buendia makati, they picked up their pace and passed by me. nyek. i thought it was my time to beat them. a little bit more i noticed ms tessa prieto valdez too! a little further, joining the 10km category, i saw miss jaja and cheza. no more familiar faces after that. but there was a big smile on my face. i was just really happy that i was on my way back.

i was around the 9th-km mark when i took an energy gel from my hydration belt. i hope it did help me in the ascend at the buendia flyover. and oh, before the run i took an energy gel, mixed with water for faster absorption (thanks for the tip, jojo!) and before i went to boni high street, i popped a couple of enervon-c capsulets and a couple of advils.

i finally saw the finish line! i just started to dash my way while shouting with joy! my time, based on what i saw, was one hour and twenty-three minutes (to be confirmed).

highlights:

seeing up-close the billboard of RnB Prince, JR, along EDSA with nothing but jacket and briefs. eeep! i was on my way back when i glanced at it quite longer than the usual glance. kahiya, lumalabas tuloy.

finally having a photo-op session after the race. thanks to cheza and ryan. we were posing at the finish line, behind the mizuno board, etc. i never had any race picture taken. maybe because i'm always alone in these running events. i will have to ask the photos from cheza and upload 'em here in a separate post.

someone at the gym recognized me and asked if i was the owner of this blog. oh wow! thank you again, i was really stupid not to ask for your name, fellow runner and gym-mate. i was actually quite surprised that you recognized me. thanks again! and do drop a comment here.

boo-hoos:

my nike+ kit zonked out. my ipod was working. it was more of the receiver acting up. hey! i thought that the mercury retrograde was over!

props to Narnian who also finished his first 15K earlier. i'm faster than you dude-pare-tsong-bro!

before i forget, a big shout-out to Him for blessing me with good health, supportive family and friends and a thumbs-up financial backing to get the gear that i need (sana gear that i want too!).

Ran earlier but the super-duper heavy rains caught me. I was warming up from World Trade Center in Buendia to the CCP Complex, when suddenly the heavens poured itself upon us. Too bad, I was planning to run, EVEN if it still rains. Man, the rain drops were so big. All of the other runners took shelter at the CCP main theather driveway.

When it trickled down a bit, around 15 minutes later, I continued my run to and made a U-turn at Quirino. Ran all the way back to Macapagal Highway and ended the run at Seaside.

Today is the inaugural National Running Day in the U.S., and I've talked to lots of runners -- from beginners to veterans -- who are planning on running today (many of them would be running whether it was National Running Day or not!) There are lots of organized runs happening today all over the country. If you can't join in one of those, try to get out on the roads, track, trails, or treadmill for a mile or two and think about all the great reasons to run.